AMA Adopts Policy to Advance Gender Equity in Medicine

THURSDAY, Aug. 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates has adopted a new policy to study, act for, and advocate to advance gender equity in medicine, according to a report published in the association's AMA Wire.

As part of this action, the House of Delegates pledged to advocate policies that promote transparency in defining criteria for physician compensation; advocate pay structures based on objective, gender-neutral criteria; encourage a specified approach for oversight of compensation models, metrics, and actual total compensation; and advocate training to identify and mitigate implicit bias for those in positions to determine salary and bonuses.

The AMA was also directed to draft a report detailing its positions and recommendations for gender equity in medicine, collect and analyze demographic data on the inclusion of women members, and commit to pay equity across organizations. In order to reduce gender bias, the AMA was directed to recommend elimination of the question of prior salary information from job applications, create an awareness campaign to inform physicians of their rights, establish educational programs to empower all genders to negotiate for equitable compensation; and create guidance relating to transparency of compensation for medical schools and health care facilities.

"As the nation's largest physician organization, the AMA not only wants to advance gender equity in medicine, but also set an example by committing to pay equity for its own employees," AMA President Barbara L. McAneny, M.D., said in the report.